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After hosting the Florida State Championships, there is no doubt in my mind that the Little League International tournament is the Granddaddy of them all. I know there are a number of other organizations out there, but none equal the Little League tournament. Let’s take a look at the other options.
First, there are other league options out there. I won’t list them by name, but we all know of another organization that offers children an option to play. They also have international tournaments of sorts, but nothing on the scale of the Little League tournament. However, the one thing that makes them less genuine than the Little League tournament is that there is no need to win to advance.
Teams that do not win their local tournaments are allowed to advance in other organizations. Hardly a reason to win any more is there? In Little League you have to win your District, then your Section, then your State, then your Region and THEN you are in the World Series! You have to perform to advance, not simply do “good enough.”
Ironic, that many call Little League “feel good” or “league ball.” First, you have to make the All-Star team in your LOCAL and WELL DEFINED AND ENFORCED league boundaries, and then you have to win to advance! While tournament organizations may offer better teams to compete against and I encourage everyone wishing to improve their game to play these tournaments, they are simply about the money, plain and simple, pay and you can play.
Want to make it to a state tournament in a tournament organization? Pay the fee, you are in. There is one organization that holds numerous state championships in the great state of Florida. Huh? Isn’t there supposed to be only one state champion? And the World Series? Same teams that compete in the local and state championships and every team has numerous “guest” players on their roster.
Again, I think you should play in these, but still no requirement to actually earn you way into them or win to advance. In fact, the same thing that these organizations say about Little League how it is “feel good” is practiced in these organizations as they have multiple levels of state champions! Good for us, for sure, we usually are in the silver bracket, but certainly nothing compared to the “win or go home” that exists at EVERY level of the Little League tournament.
Anybody can get a bunch of great players together and go win a tournament, not a real challenge there. But let’s see you accomplish the things our leagues have done here. In our league, we have only 300 kids yet we have 3 district champions, 1 runner up, and 2 sectional runner ups. Our neighboring league had 2 sectional champions AND a state championship runner up, they have about 120 kids or so. Now that is an accomplishment!
Meanwhile, next week we will all sit down to watch the ONLY true World Series Championship tournament on the planet. We can watch with confidence knowing EVERY team from 8 regions in the United States and 8 regions in the rest of the world will come from 1 local league, have won their district, section, state, and region, and will have worked to earn their position in the Little League World Series!
Now there is a true international tournament!
General , Travel Ball
baseball , Florida , little league , Little League Baseball , Little League World Series , Sports , United States , world series
6 August 2012
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Junior, Senior & Big League Baseball (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The results are in and it is official! There will now be an official 50/70 Little League division with a World Series Champion! However, they set it up w/ an odd age breakdown of 11-13. This creates challenges across the board. Before I get to that, here are the rule changes for the league found at this link :
1. Implementation of a new division in baseball, the 50/70 division.
2. Junior Softball division to pitch from 43′
3. Senior All-Star teams can have 16 players and Big League All-Star teams 17.
4. Tournament team names can be released June 15th or 2 weeks before first scheduled game, whichever is sooner.
5. Players who do not meet the 60% minimum play for tournament teams because of illness or injury can be eligible with doctor’s excuse.
6. Tryouts and practices for tournament teams can be held starting June 15th or two weeks prior to the first scheduled game.
None of these rules are really all that significant other than the grandaddy of them all, the 50-70 rule! This creates a dilemma for all leagues. How to structure your league? My first thought is this way:
Senior Division 13-16
Junior Division 13-14
50/70 Division 11-13
Major Division 9-12
Minor Division 7-11
But this creates a conundrum for smaller leagues. Smaller leagues don’t have enough players for a 50/70 AND a major’s division. It is also my believe that Little League wants the major’s division to go away and be replaced w/ the 50/70 division. The 13yo stud can move up to the seniors, but smaller leagues like the one I am part of would essentially have to do away w/ the juniors division at this point if they want a 50/70 division. Would this cause many of the 13yo’s to leave and go play in leagues that allow 13′s to play on 90′ bases? I don’t know.
My next question is, must a league still charter a Major League division IF they are chartering 50/70 divisions? I don’t know. As of now you MUST have a major’s team chartered or have a waiver. I presume you do not. So where does this leave the 12 year old’s at this point come tournament time?
Imagine this scenario which was my first instinct on this one:
Senior 13-16 (Only stud 13′s allowed to move up)
50/70 11-13
Minors 7-11
In this scenario you would have the following potential all-star teams:
Seniors, Juniors, 50/70, Minors
Anyone who played seniors would be eligible for the Seniors and Juniors team. However, ONLY those who played 50/70 are eligible for the 50/70 all-star team. So presume that the all-star team is comprised of all 13′s, now where do the 12′s play? The 11′s can move down the the 10/11 team, but the 12′s are left w/o a team, even though that had been the marquee age for Little League for all of eternity!
Why Little League allowed the 13′s to play down is beyond me, but a league that doesn’t have their 13′s on the 50/70 team does not stand a chance against a team of all 13′s they are destined to encounter in tournament play. This forces the board to either create a team that will never have a chance or create a major’s division as well! A substantial challenge for any organization large or small.
So, at this point, I really don’t know how I would recommend structuring a league that offered a 50/70 program. Do any of you have any suggestions? Certainly together we can figure this out. What do you think? How would you, or how are you planning to structure your programs? I would love to know.
Board of Directors , General
baseball , big league , Division (sport) , little league , Little League Baseball , Major League Baseball , tournament , world series
8 May 2012
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Little League announced the dates and locations for all division’s World Series events for the 2009 season. Click here to view the entire announcement.
Of note is the fact that the 2009 Big League Softball and Big League Baseball World Series tournament championship games will be televised live in prime time on the ESPN family of networks and all eight World Series finals in softball and baseball will be televised nationally for the third consecutive year.
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General
2009 , baseball , ESPN , little league , Little League Baseball , Little League World Series , Sport , world series
18 November 2008
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Email from Little League:
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/947715915
If the above link does not work, please cut and paste the text into your web browser.
Learn the Positive Coaching techniques used by thousands of Little League coaches, including those who led Waipio Little League to the 2008 Little League World Series title, in a *FREE* Webinar on November 18th at 5:30pm PST (8:30pm EST)
This one-hour webinar, led by Positive Coaching Alliance Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson, and Little League International Sr. Director of Operations Nick Caringi, provides:
- Instruction in Little League Double-Goal Coaching methods, where your first goal is winning and your second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.
- Insight into shaping your Little League into an outstanding organization, where all coaches and parents help players strive for excellence on and off the field.
Positive Coaching Alliance is a nonprofit organization founded at Stanford University with the mission to transform youth sports so that all athletes have a positive, character-building experience.
http://www.thelittleleaguecoach.com/dont-forget-the-positive-coaching-alliance-webinar/
General
2008 Little League World Series , baseball , little league , Little League Baseball , Little League World Series , positive coaching alliance , Sport , Stanford University , world series
14 November 2008
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Received the following email from Little League today about a webinar they are hosting. My favorite part of the email is this “Instruction in Little League Double-Goal Coaching methods, where your first goal is winning and your second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.” We all need to remember the impact we have on these kids. Who doesn’t remember their Little League coach?
Email:
Little League- Positive Coaching Webinar
Join us for a Webinar on November 18
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/947715915
Learn the Positive Coaching techniques used by thousands of Little League coaches, including those who led Waipio Little League to the 2008 Little League World Series title, in a *FREE* Webinar on November 18th at 5:30pm PST (8:30pm EST)
This one-hour webinar, led by Positive Coaching Alliance Founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson, and Little League International Sr. Director of Operations Nick Caringi, provides:
- Instruction in Little League Double-Goal Coaching methods, where your first goal is winning and your second, more-important goal is teaching life lessons through sports.
- Insight into shaping your Little League into an outstanding organization, where all coaches and parents help players strive for excellence on and off the field.
Positive Coaching Alliance is a nonprofit organization founded at Stanford University with the mission to transform youth sports so that all athletes have a positive, character-building experience.
Join us for the education and inspiration that will help you create the
best possible environment for your Little League!
*Wondering what a webinar is?
It is a workshop or lecture delivered over the Web and participants listen in through the phone. A webinar is a very collaborative experience that includes polling and question & answer sessions to allow full participation between the audience and the presenter.
Title: Little League- Positive Coaching Webinar
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Time: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM PST
Enjoy!
http://www.thelittleleaguecoach.com/little-league-positive-coaching-webinar/
General
2008 Little League World Series , baseball , competition , life lessons , little league , Little League Baseball , Little League World Series , postitive sports alliance , Sport , Stanford University , world series
6 November 2008
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Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies and the city of brotherly love. They were the better team this year and they deserved the series. How about Brad Lidge going perfect all season long in save opportunities? Pretty sweet! Congratulations to my friend Brian Kerrigan The Sports Uniform Guy a Philadelphia native and lifelong Phillies fan.
As a lifelong Yankees fan from the Washington, DC metro area, and now a Florida transplant, I have to admit the Rays made me believe. I had the opportunity to see them play the White Sox in mid season at the Tropicana in Tampa and it was a fun time. Hard to believe as I watched them all year knowing they would crumble at some point, but they didn’t, they stood strong, held their ground, won the American League Pennant, and played for the World Series Title. That Joe Maddon, the Rays’ manager, is something else. There is a role model we should all try to emulate. Class act, across the board. Made a plan, let his team know the plan, then executed the plan. Both managers were class acts in this series and always seem to be. Wonder why that is???…hmmmmm….
Anyway, congrats again to the Phillies, too bad the ‘Skins are not going to let them in the NFL playoffs!
General
American League , baseball , Brad Lidge , Chicago White Sox , Joe Maddon , Philadelphia Phillies , Tampa Bay Rays , world series
29 October 2008
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OK, who out there knew that if a game was tied going into the bottom half of the inning that the game would be suspended and then resumed from where it left off? That’s what I thought. Since we were kids we knew that a game that is official, but does not complete an entire inning reverts back to the prior inning’s score! Using what I have always thought the rule was, the Phillies win the series!
It would suck that they won the series that way, but apparently up until last year, that’s the way it was. Tom Boswell of the Washington post lets us in on another secret of the game last night. No matter what the inning or the score, all parties had agreed and commissioner Bud Selig had blessed that they would play every inning of the game, regardless. Now there is a rule! A good one I might add! That should be the rule across the board. Why would we shorten a game because of rain when the teams are likely to play the next day, or at least again later in the season.
What if that one game cost a team the pennant? What if it cost them a shot at a wild card? We could all go home earlier as well as they wouldn’t normally wait in the middle of August until 1AM to continue the game. I doubt we will get the rule for the regular season, but in the playoffs, and the World Series at a minimum, it needs to be there.
This, of course, got me thinking. Did Little League change their rules as well? I know that is a game completes the first inning but is not official it is picked up where it left off. If the first inning is not completed, the game starts over. But what if it is completed in the 5th inning or tied in the top of the fifth? What is the Little League ruling then?
A quick check of my handy dandy 2008 rulebook confirms my suspicions. The Little League Phillies would have won the game. The game reverts back to the prior inning in an incomplete inning if the visitors tied or went ahead in their half of the inning. I think Little League may want to revisit this and go w/ the Major League Baseball rule. Or play every game all the way out other than time limits or 10-run rules. This includes during tournament play.
Do we really thing the tournament committee in Williamsport would allow the international World Series Champion to be crowned with a shortened game? I don’t think so. Why not make the rule universal?
I assume the reason for the rule in the first place was because travel was so cumbersome 100 years ago when the rules of the game were written. This is no longer the case, why would we shorten any game? That gives and advantage to the team against their next opponent as they didn’t have to use their bullpen, it also leaves less opportunity for success for record breakers.
I vote we never have a shortened baseball game again at any level other than time limits where allowed and 10-run rules where allowed.
http://www.thelittleleaguecoach.com/rays-and-phillies-delayed-game-taught-me-something/
Should a winner be determined in a shortened baseball game? What is your feeling?
General
Bud Selig , little league , Major League Baseball , Philadelphia Phillies , Tampa Bay Rays , world series
28 October 2008
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They may be down three games to one, but those of us in the great state of Florida still believe you can do it! Win tomorrow night and bring the series back home!
General
Florida , Philadelphia Phillies , Tampa Bay Rays , United States , world series
26 October 2008
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It is 1:15 in the morning, I have 8 lessons tomorrow starting at 9AM, what am I still doing up? I am either addicted to baseball or really stupid. I will let you decide. Is this game actually going to go into extra innings as well?
General
baseball , extra innings , Innings , phillies , rays , Sports , world series
26 October 2008
comments [2]
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Today we had our most challenging softball game. We are a team of 13 year olds with only 2 x 16 year olds playing in an interleague softball division that considers the senior division 13-16. It is a challenge at times, but most teams are young like us so we do OK.
Tonight we played a very experienced and aggressive team and we hung with them. I am proud of our girls. We were down 9-7 going into the last inning, very exciting. We bunted, ran, stole, they bunted, ran, stole, it was fantastic. A real softball game.
I told someone during the game that when all my kids get older, if I still want to coach, I am going to coach the senior softball division. It is the funnest division of all. Watching the College Softball World Series and Olympic games I have actually fallen in love with the game. This is unusual for me. I don’t usually care for women’s sports. Nothing personal, but women’s basketball is not very exciting and other than the olympics, I rarely watch women compete at all.
Softball is different. I think because there is no other game like it. Sure, it’s based on the same principles as baseball, but it has little in common. It has taken me years to learn this game and every day I figure out how much I don’t know about it. All I know is I love it. It is fast paced and furious and before you know it, you can be down 4 runs or up 4, in the blink of an eye.
Every play is close and every strategy exciting. Aggression is the name of the game until the other team proves they can stop you. It is really fun to watch. Heck, we ended up losing the game by 8 runs but the girls had more fun than during the games we won.
My only problem with softball is a dominant pitcher can completely overpower another team. I don’t know what the solution for this is, but I do know at the most elite level it takes away from the very thing that makes the game so great. If the ball is not being put into play, the game is boring. But when teams are hitting, running, bunting, and slapping, it is a fantastic spectacle to behold.
http://www.thelittleleaguecoach.com/i-think-i-like-softball-better-than-baseball-now
General
College and University , College softball , Fastpitch , fun , Jennie Finch , Olympic Games , softball , speed , Sport , world series
21 October 2008
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